Time-Travel Kinda Sucks
by MHplayer749
Summary: In hindsight, throwing out space-time jutsus like they were the second coming of toasted bread wasn't the safest thing do, because it leads to situations like these. Like what, you ask? Like traveling back in time and landing on on an alternate timeline. "This is hard," stated Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

Uploaded: 4/26/14

Revised: N/A

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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It was a hot day. Sweat dripped down his cheek as he wondered why it was so hot in October. The days should be getting cooler! He looked to be nine years old with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Said eyes would usually gave off the impression of mischief, but the heat had put the blonde in a bad mood and he had no intentions of moving more than necessary and raising his body's temperature even more. He was sluggishly walking down a street of his home village, having been sent out on an errand to buy groceries by his mother. _Yeah_ the blonde thought sarcastically, _groceries_. It was no secret to him why his mom would send him out to do groceries. His parents wanted to talk to their younger twins in private.

It was understandable. It was no doubt related to their training and they probably didn't want him to become jealous. He would've been hurt if it hadn't been his decision to not become a ninja in this world. His had become a giant mess and he had no desire to get involved in fighting again. So once he had worked out that he was in the past of an alternate timeline he told his parents of his intentions of not becoming a ninja. At first they'd been confused. He'd previously begged them to train him so he could protect his siblings, but once he explained themselves they understood. He didn't like fighting. And the twins were his parent's children. They would definitely be strong! That had been oddly relieving to his parents. They wouldn't have to worry about one of their children dying on the field.

It was strange. Walking down the street, that is. No more glares or cold shoulders. The street wouldn't fall quiet as he passed by. He still wasn't quite used to not having to do something outrageous for attention. Some villagers would wave or smile at him, the ones who recognized him as the son of their leader. He would usually wave back awkwardly and be on his way. While it was true that he had been accepted in his old world he'd never had the chance to walk down a street like this. The village had been busy rebuilding and then the war happened.

As he walked into his home he heard the sound of a kunai hitting a target. Dropping off the bags he'd been carrying with him in the kitchen he made his way to the backyard. There, his mother was coaching his brother and sister, Arashi and Mito.

His brother looked like his dad with whiskers, but instead of blonde hair he had dark red hair and blue eyes. He was a bit stuck up at times. It probably came with being the son of the fourth. But Naruto was always there to knock some humility into him in the form of a punch to the back of his head. It wouldn't be long until he realized that he should technically be stronger than his brother. Naruto would have to play along then, he didn't people to get suspicious. His sister on the other hand…

_I still don't know how that' s genetically possible._ She had blonde hair with bright red streaks and purple eyes. Her whiskers were also slightly more prominent than either his or Arashi's. Her personality was… well, she was Naruto female version. Lively, talkative, and not afraid to make a fool of herself (evident by her lopsided pigtails and orange wardrobe).

"Hey kaa-san!" he shouted, "hey brats. How's training?"

"It's boring!" Shouted Mito. "Mom won't teach us any cool jutsu," she pouted.

"Stop whining," said Arashi," we can't run before we learn to walk." _That kid's too smart for his own good._

"Yeah, listen to Ara-chan," a glare." Besides, you've been wanting to start training for a while right?"

"Yeah, but I want to learn some cool jutsus."

Naruto sighed and looked to his mom," What are you teaching them?" He noticed a slight strain in her smile. He got here early. He knew perfectly well why she didn't want him to become a ninja. His brother and sister were jinchuriki. Their chakra reserves were astronomical compared to his. At least they should be. Having the sage's chakra came with very potent and very large amounts of chakra. Well, what his parents didn't know didn't hurt them. As long as he didn't activate it, his parents would keep thinking that his reserves were only slightly above average for his age. His mom probably thought that if he were to become a ninja he would be jealous of their vast amount of chakra. He didn't blame her.

"Only how to handle kunais and shuriken," she started," we have to start small." She looked at her daughter at the end of her senctence.

"That's so cool!" he pretended to be excited.

"Yeah, but it's boring!" And idea popped into his head.

"Remember Sasuke?" She nodded," well, he started training with Kunai and he can already hit a target perfectly from 30 meters away." He noticed a determined look enter her eyes. She proceeded to turn towards the target and begin practicing.

Sasuke, that was a sore topic for him. His best friend wasn't born earlier like him. Instead he had a twin sister. _What's with this world and twins?_ So he couldn't even befriend the boy. He supposed it was for the best. He would be comparing the two Sasukes and he knew that wasn't fair. To either of them.

When Sasuke and his sister met a year ago they completely hit it off. As rivals that is. His sister was bragging about having an elder brother. To which Sasuke that he too had a brother and he was actually a ninja. Miko had deflated but quickly came back saying that that didn't matter since she would be stronger than anyone else.

He smiled watching his sister concentrate on trying to hit the target. He turned around and said,"I'm going to go take a nap. It's too hot to be awake. Would you wake me up when it's time to eat?" he asked his mom

His mother smiled at him."Sure," her smile wasn't strained anymore."Don't sleep to much though, or you'll be tossing and turning later tonight."

He nodded as he walked back inside into the slightly cooler air. When he reached his room and lay down on his bed he felt something poking at his mind. "What is it Kurama?" He asked.

**Don't talk out loud idiot. What if someone hears you and wonders who you're talking to?  
**_Sorry,_ he apologized,_ But that doesn't answer my question._ He yawned, the heat was unbearable. He should close the blinds but he was already slipping off into the realm of dreams. He didn't even hear Kurama's reply.

He awoke in a plain that went on as far as he could and and a much smaller version of Kurama to his side. He turned around and faced the Sage of the Six Parths. "What is it old man?", he questioned.

The Sage only looked at him for a moment before replying. "I called you here because we have something important to discuss. You are not from this world, I said when you came here before." When he'd first seen his parents he'd been dumbfounded and promptly fainted. According to his parents he hit his head on the way down and he'd actually been really close do dying from a damaged blood vessel. And with that, the requirement to be near death was fullfilled and his strong connection to the sage led to their meeting three years ago.

"Did something happen? And I thought I couldn't be here unless I was in a near death state!" He pointed his finger at the much older spirit.

"I used a portion of my remaining power to connect to Kurama, and through him, to you. I need to tell you. You should stay out of this world's affairs as much as possible! It will mess with the way things are meant to progress. If I could, I would even take my chakra which has awakened inside of you back. But that's not possible as I am no longer one of the living." The sage finished with strong voice and an intimidating look on his face.

Naruto grit his teeth in anger. The Sage was powerful, no doubt stronger than Madara had been. But he would do whatever it took to protect his loved ones. "I won't do anything that'll bring peril to those I cherish. But if I have the power to do something and no one else does I won't hesitate to reveal myself!"

The Sage looked at him for a long time after that. And Naruto stared right back, his gaze not losing its intensity. "I see..." began the sage. Suddenly his mouth formed a smile. "It would seem my other self was right about you. You really could end all conflict."

"Huh?" Naruto stared dumbly at the sage.

"**He was testing you brat,**" Naruto turned to look at the Kyuubi who had a look of strong concentration on his face. "**Make it quick old man, I can't keep this connection forever.**" The sage nodded, accepting his words.

"Indeed, I was testing you. And now with this I can give you my own power, or blessings at this point. You've already awakened the power. This shall be the last time we meet, take care not do die before your time is up." And with that the plain blinked out and was replaced with his room.

"Naruto! Dinner's ready!" He got up, feeling refreshed in the slightly cooler air. He hurriedly walked downstairs towards the kitchen. Everyone was already there, his dad included who sometimes failed to make it on time for dinner. Taking a seat in between his mom and dad he looked at his siblings who looked ready to drop.

"What's wrong you two?" He taunted them with a smirk,"Tired from a single day of training?"

"Shut up Nii-chan! You wouldn't know what ninja training is like!" His sister had forgotten her previous fatigue in exchange for anger at her brother. Arashi was looking rather annoyed too, and less tired.

"You're right! I wouldn't, and I'm not interested in finding out. So you two have to become super strong so you can protect me from anyone who would want to mess with me!" He let out an exaggerated laugh. "Just imagine! Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, son of the fourth Hokage, and big brother to the soon-to-be strongest ninjas ever! No one will want to mess with me!" His parents smiled, seeing his genuine disinterest in becoming a ninja.

"If you're going to be so annoying about it I won't bother protecting you nii-san." That was Arashi, he could be so quiet. Or maybe he was just quiet compared to himself and Mito? He did take up after their dad more.

"Eeeeh!" He shouted. "What am I supposed to do if someone comes after me! Mito-chan, you'll protect me right?"

"Hmph," she looked away, trying in vain to hide the smile from her face.

As the three siblings interacted, Minato and Kushina smiled. Their family was a happy one. And with Naruto's decision to not become a ninja, more stress free than other ninja families. He didn't have the slight advantage that being a host to a bijuu brought. The other two on the other hand were destined to be ninjas the moment they became jinchuriki.

"Alright you three settle down. Here's dinner," and with that she set down their dinner for the night.

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Naruto was laying on his bed with his hands behind his head looking up, thinking about his meeting with the Sage. _I should've listened to mom._ It had been a reminder that there were still enemies from every direction in this world. And the worst thing about it is that he couldn't help. Not without raising some major questions.

He supposed he could run away, defeat the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and take care of Obito. Not necessarily in that order. If he went after the Akatsuki first Obito would no doubt come up with some way to counter him. And he couldn't just change him with some words. The only thing that fazed him in his world was seeing his own true desires reflected off of Naruto's heart. And doing something like that again, would be extremely difficult. He'd only done it because every one of his friends and allies had been helping him.

Running away for a few years and taking care of everything could be viable with a decent excuse. Orochimarou kidnapped him and used him as a guinea pig for his experiments. Said experiments awakened a special chakra within him that the Snake Sannin sealed away with a seal, the one currently tying his mind with Kurama's. Eventually he got careless and Naruto defeated him. It _was_ a good cover story, but he would have to leave for a few years at least. In his current body he wouldn't be much of a match against his stronger enemies, even with the Sage's chakra. And he just didn't want to leave his family.

"This is hard," stated Naruto. "Who knew time-travel kinda sucks. Still," he said with a smile,"I have a family now." He turned on his side, looking out the window in his room. "Doesn't make planning less annoying." He let out and exasperated sigh,"Making long-tern plans was never something I was good at. I'll just have to wait and take on whatever comes this way... though I should let those two become strong on their own though. I'll only interfere if I have to. Like Pein's invasion." At this his eyes darkened. He still hadn't forgiven Nagato for destroying his village and killing his sensei.

**Sleep,** commanded the fox. Naruto noted that he sounded really tired. _Guess connecting me to the Sage really took a lot out of him._ And with his thoughts going nowhere, Naruto fell asleep.

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**You like, dislike? Pointers, criticism? **

**P.S. Don't expect frequent updates.**


	2. Chapter 2

Uploaded: 4/27/14

Revised: N/A

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Naruto awoke the next day later than usual. _10:23,_ he thought with a scowl on his face, _taking that nap messed up my sleeping schedule.__At least I talked to the Sage again. And he said it was fine to reveal myself._ He felt a very weak pull at the back of his head, confused he asked, _Kurama?_

**Brat,** responded his partner in crime, **connecting your mind to that of the Sage's took a lot out of me. **Naruto heard him yawn, that definitely sounded convincing. He'd never heard the bijuu yawn. **It was more of a mental strain than anything, but I'll be out of commission for a while. **

_What do you mean! You're supposed to heal from anything really fast. And what about Mito and Arashi? What if they need your chakra?_he roared in his mind. He knew he shouldn't be screaming, but he was about to lose his only companion from his old world. And he still didn't know what to do.

**You could give me some of the Sage's chakra **replied the fox. **But we both know what that would lead to. And brat, messing with souls is tiring stuff; it's why the life of another was needed for that damn reviving jutsu.**** Is it so surprising that I'm mentally exhausted?**

_No,_ he replied, sounding depressed, _it's just hard Kurama. Lying to them, pretending I'm their son when I'm not really _**_their_**_son. Sometimes when I look at them I just want to tell them everything and hope they'll forgive me._

**Naruto,** he jerked in surprise. Kurama didn't often call him by his name; usually it was brat or idiot. **You have to live through this, the Old Man believed in you. End this world's conflict, protect your family. You can do it. I know you can, after all, you managed to befriend me. **

Smiling a sad, but heartfelt smile Naruto opened his mouth and said, "Thanks Kurama. And goodbye, for now."

Snorting to himself the Fox mumbled a reply, but before he fell asleep he said one last thing, **just remember your name, and why it was given to you. If you can do that, you'll be fine.** And with that, the already weak link between the two was cut, but not in a sudden way, more like moving away from something until you couldn't see it over the horizon anymore kind of way.

Staying quiet for a few more moments he took a deep breath, held it as long as he could, and finally released it from his nostrils. Smiling, Naruto made his way downstairs, where he heard the sounds of his siblings talking. Or rather, it was Mito babbling about them joining the academy sometime in the next six months and Arashi humming along when necessary. "Morning you two," he greeted as his foot reached the bottom floor. Both his siblings turned toward him and replied. Mito with a bright and loud "Mornin' Nii-chan" and Arashi with a much more subdued "Did you sleep well" and a nod in his direction. Naruto sweat dropped at his brother. _He's six and he's so polite. Definitely takes after dad. _

_"_Where's mom?" he asked.

"She went out this morning. Something about returning some horror movies that Mito borrowed from a friend, _without_ telling anyone," was Arashi's informative reply.

He nodded at his brother's response, and then turned towards his sister. "How'd you get caught?" he started to comically yell at his sister, "I thought I told you that putting it under your mattress was a bad idea!" Arashi's head quickly turned towards his brother at this and his mouth opened and closed. Giving him a brief glance of amusement Naruto turned to look at Mito again.

"I didn't!" she began, "It's just that I may have watched it in the middle of the night and I had a nightmare. I woke everybody up except you nii-chan," she finished timidly. It seemed Kurama's mind wasn't the only that needed rest if he'd slept through his sister's racket. He noticed she shivered, probably remembering the movie.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"Uh uh!" she replied while desperately shaking her head sideways. Despite her strong refusals, she was shivering. And it was only mid-morning... and she was wearing an orange hoodie.

He gave his sister a cocky grin, "Don't worry Mito-chan," he began moving towards his sister and gave her a hug, "if you need protection from big bad monsters," (Madara, Orochimarou, and Obito – he had a chance at redeeming himself, no matter how small). "Just call out to me and I'll be there to save you! You too Arashi!" He meant it. If they had to suffer he would save them, damn the consequences.

His sister however didn't see it his way, "Geez nii-chan, stop trying to act cool. You're not even going to be a ninja." She smiled cheekily at him, and he noticed her shivering stopped.

"So what? If someone threatens my family I'll make sure they pay! By making them treat you and Arashi to ramen! How's that sound?" Her eyes which had been playfully looking down on him just a few moments earlier (despite her needing to look up _at_ him) were now positively shining and her mouth was starting to drool.

"That sounds great," was her reply. When he looked at his brother he noticed the dreamy look in his eyes. He called him to attention by clearing his throat.

"Huh! Oh, y-yeah. That sounds great Naruto-nii," was his shaky reply. Adorned with a light blush to boot. _Naruto-nii?_ Guess he really wants some ramen.

They heard the door open and were instantly paying attention. You didn't live with the fourth Hokage without picking up some ninja habits. Consciously or not. But they needn't worry. "I'm home!" came the happy voice of their mom. Instantly the twins ran towards the door to greet their mother. _Probably hoping for a gift,_ thought Naruto. As his mom came into view he noticed how both his brother and sister were hanging on each of his mom's legs.

"Where'd you go to kaa-san," he asked switching to a more intimate way of calling his mom. She looked happy. Like Family Night at Ichiraku's happy.

Instantly her smile diminished a bit, "To return something to its rightful owner," she looked down at Mito," and to sign up these two at the academy," was her slightly cautious reply. It seemed she was still cautious about him not wanting to be a ninja. Both Arashi and Mito let go of their mom's legs in surprise and fell on their rear. He stared blankly at them for a second before huge happy grin came over his face.

He moved towards the two and the ground and started congratulating them by ruffling their hair, much to their dislike. Kushina's mood returned full force. It seemed Naruto truly had no interest in the life of a ninja.

"To celebrate, we'll be going to Ichiraku's tonight!" She started to excitedly explain. "Minato even said that he'll leave the tower even earlier than yesterday to celebrate. That way we can have more family time with all of us!" What a pleasant surprise. But he couldn't get distracted. He had something to do. The academy had reminded him. Sasuke.

"Hey mom?" he timidly asked her, going as far as to put his hands behind his back, lower his head and open his eyes as wide as possible. "Can I get out for a while?"

"Only if you promise to be back by 3 o' clock and no later. Is that clear?" He quickly nodded before putting his sandals at the entrance and leaving. He had to find Sasuke and change him somehow so that the massacre didn't affect him like it affected his own Sasuke.

It took the better part of two hours before he finally found him inside a forest near a lake at the outskirts of the Uchiha compound. He heard the clanging of steel and he furrowed his brows. He didn't feel anyone nearby, granted he couldn't feel everyone like he could when he gained Kurama's cloak but he was still _somewhat_ good at sensing without using the sage's chakra and the powers that came with it. As he approached a clearing he understood why he'd heard the clanging of steel. Sasuke was trying to hit various targets scattered all other the place, some were even behind obstacles facing the other way. _Looks like what Itachi did against Nagato_, he observed.

As Sasuke landed he made his presence known. "Wow! That was so cool, I bet no one else your age could do something like that!" he was playing the excitable idiot. Sasuke looked a little overwhelmed before he turned away with a slight blush on his cheeks and an 'Hmph'.

"I'm an Uchiha, what did you expect?" He tried to make it sound natural but the obvious gloating in his tone was noticeable to anyone. But suddenly he looked down in sadness, "Though my nii-chan could already do this when he was my age." He was looking down now. This was exactly what he needed.

"Why are you looking so sad?" now he just hoped he didn't mess up.

"Well," he was hesitating. It seemed he hadn't quite recognized Naruto yet. "It's just, all Father ever talks about is nii-san and how he's the perfect Uchiha. He's only recognized me once. I hope that if I surpass nii-san Father will acknowledge me."

Naruto furrowed his brows, acting confused. "So you want to be like your nii-san so your dad will pay attention to you?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke quickly replied looking up. A flash of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Aren't you the son of the Hokage? The one who doesn't want to be a ninja?" The confusion was evident in his voice.

"Yup," Naruto happily replied.

"Why!" demanded the little six year old.

"Why?" repeated Naruto.

"Yeah," he continued. "Don't you want to surpass your parents? They're both really strong right? Or did you just give up?

Things were going well, now all he could do was hope Sasuke interpreted his words correctly and not make him believe he was a coward. "Well," Naruto started, cautiously. "I did want to be a ninja but then I asked myself 'why'? What would I gain? I already have all I need. And if I were to become a ninja then others would always compare me to tou-san and kaa-san. And then my little siblings would be compared to me. I didn't want that. So I decided to be my own person. And if you want to be acknowledged by your dad I don't think you should try and be like your brother. Be yourself. Make him look at you as Sasuke and not as your brother. You get what I'm trying to say?"

Sasuke looked confused, and when he spoke it was slowly, like he was picking his words up off the floor in the right order. "So you're saying, if I want tou-san to praise me I shouldn't be like nii-san but myself?" He nodded. "You know, I never thought about it that way, but I think I get it. And it makes sense!" His face lit up. Hopefully, with this he wouldn't leave the village in search of power. Instead, Naruto hoped he stayed here in the village, in defiance to his brother who would leave.

"Anyway, I got to go. Kaa-san wanted me home by three and it's about two right now. Bye and thank you!"

"Eeeeeh!" Screamed Naruto, "kaa-san is going to kill me! I better hurry home."

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A year and a half later, when Naruto finally saw Sasuke again, a few weeks after the massacre, it was to a much less gloomy looking Sasuke than in his timeline. He'd been walking down a water bank when he saw him with his legs over the edge of a boardwalk. It looked like he was struggling with himself. At a tentative appraisal of his chakra (he'd been practicing but he was still nowhere near as good as he used to be, without using the Sage's chakra) Naruto was pleasantly surprised when instead of feeling a black mass of hatred, he felt two struggling feelings. One of anger and one of defiance. The anger was obviously directed at his brother. The defiance, however, really surprised Naruto. It felt light, like it was the better, the harder, the _right_ path.

When he had examined him he released a sigh from his lungs. It seemed his meddling had done some good to Sasuke. Now he just hoped he went down the right path.

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**Surprise? I know I said I wouldn't frequently but.. who cares, right?**

**You like, dislike? Pointers, criticism?**

**P.S. I hope the Sasuke scene came out somewhat decent ;-;**


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